The House of Walderne

by A. D. Crake

  Chapter 22: A Medieval Tyrant.

  Drogo did not venture to bring in his prisoners by the light ofday, for although he had collected together a large flock of blacksheep, yet did he not dare openly to consign a preaching friar tothose dungeons of his.

  The men he had with him on the spot were certain lewd fellows ofthe baser sort, distinguished even in Walderne Castle for theirwickedness; yet even they had their superstitions, and imagined itwould bring bad luck to arrest the ecclesiastic, travelling in thegarb of his order.

  But Drogo's will was law, and they obeyed. They detained theprisoners in an outlying farmhouse until dark, then thrusting alabourer's smock over Martin's robe, led their prisoners to thecastle.

  Prisoners were no novelty there, many of these free lances wereborn in camp, and had the inherited habits of generations ofrobbers, so that it was to them a second nature to mutilate,imprison, and torture, and slay. They looked upon burghers andpeasants as butchers do on sheep, or rather they looked upon themas beings made that warriors might wring their hidden hoards fromthem, by torture and violence, or even in default of the gold hangthem for amusement, or the like. They had about as much sympathyfor these men of peace as the pike for the roach--they only thoughtthem excellent eating.

  As for the knight--he was a knight, and must be treated as such,although an enemy. As for the burgher--well, we have discussed thecase. As for the friar--they did not like to meddle with theChurch. They dreaded excommunication, men of Belial though theywere.

  The knight was confined in a chamber high up in the tower, fromwhence he could see:

  The forest dark and gloomy,

  And under poetic inspiration compose odes upon liberty. The burgherand friar were taken downstairs to gloomy dungeons, adjacent toeach other, where they were left to solitude and silence.

  Solitary confinement! it has driven many men mad: to be the inmateof a narrow cell, without a ray of light, groping in one corner fora rotten bed of straw, groping in the other for a water jug andloaf of black bread, feeling unclean insects and reptiles strugglebeneath one's feet: oh, horrible!

  And such was our Martin's fate.

  But he was not alone, his God was with him, as with Daniel in thelion's den, and he never for one moment gave way to despair. Heaccepted the trial as best he might, and bore the chillingatmosphere and scanty fare like a hero. Yet he was a prisoner inthe castle of his fathers.

  And the unjust accusation of Drogo gave him deep pain. The verythought that his hand actually had administered the fatal draughtwas in itself sufficiently painful.

  "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," and Martin left it.

  The poor burgher in the next cell, groaning in spirit, needs farmore compassion. He was Mayor of Hamelsham, and great in the wooltrade. He had at home a bustling, active wife, mighty at thespindle and loom. He had two sons, one of twelve, one of five;three daughters, one almost marriageable; he had six apprenticesand twelve workmen carding wool; he had the town business todischarge; he sat upon the bench in the town hall and administeredjustice to petty offenders. And here was he, torn from all this, andconsigned to a dungeon in the hold of a fierce marauding young "noble."

  To the knight above Drogo paid his first visit on the followingday, and bowed low before Ralph of Herstmonceux.

  "The fortune of war has made thee my captive, but knightly fare andhonourable treatment are awaiting thee, until the day when itpleases thee to redeem thyself, and deprive us of the light of thypresence."

  "Thanks! For one whose lessons in chivalry were so abruptly brokenoff, thou hast learnt thy language well. But just now it would bemore to the point if thou wilt tell me what it will cost me to getout of thy den."

  Drogo winced at the allusion to his expulsion from Kenilworth, andcharged fifty marks the more.

  "We fix thy ransom at a hundred marks {29}."

  "Why, it is a king's ransom!"

  "And thou art fit to be a king."

  "And what if I cannot pay it?"

  "We shall feel it our unpleasant duty to hand thee over to theroyal justice, as one notoriously in league with the rebel barons."

  "May I send a messenger to my castle?"

  "At once. I will place my household at thy disposal."

  "And the friar and the mayor; does my ransom include theirfreedom?"

  "By no means: every tub must stand on its own bottom."

  "But they were my companions, travelling as it were, not beingfighting men, under my protection."

  "Perhaps it would expedite matters if thou wouldst inform me onwhat errand ye were all bent?"

  Ralph was silent, and Drogo departed with the same ceremoniouspoliteness, laughing at it in his sleeve.

  "Now for the burgher," said he.

  A light shone in the dark prison beneath, and the mayor looked intothe face of his fierce young captor.

  "What brought thee into my woods, fat beast?"

  "I knew not they were thine, or I had perchance not intruded. Nowtell me, lord, at what price I may redeem my error, for I have awife and children, to say nothing of apprentices and workmen, wholong sore for me!"

  "'When the cat's away the mice will play.'

  "They will get on merrily without thee. One question thou mustanswer before we let thee go: On what business came ye hither?"

  The mayor hesitated.

  "S'death, dost keep me waiting? We have a torture chamber close athand. Shall I summon the torturers? They will fit thy fat thumbswith a handsome screw in a moment."

  Poor mayor! Martyrdom was not his vocation, and he owned it.

  "Nay, it can do no harm. We came to witness the last confession ofa dying woman, who had some crime on her soul, which she wished todepose before fitting witnesses."

  "Of what nature?"

  "I was not told. I waited to learn."

  "Why didst thou hesitate to say this just now?"

  Poor mayor! He stammered out that he hoped he hadn't offendedtherein.

  "The fact is that you knew the men, your companions, came as myenemies, and suspected that the lies that witch, whom Satan is justnow basting, meant to tell, affected me! Don't lie, or I willthrust the lie down thy throat, together with a few spare teeth; mygauntlet is heavy."

  "It was so," said the terrified citizen of Hamelsham.

  "Ha! ha! Well, it matters little to me what thou mayest say, orwhat thy silly townsfolk think of me: the gudgeons probably talkmuch evil of the perch, but I never heard that it hurts him much,or spoils his digestion of those savoury little fish. But thou mustpay for it: I fix thy ransom at one hundred marks."

  "Good heavens! I have not as many pence!"

  "Swear not, most fat and comely burgher. The money must be raised,or I will send the good citizens of Hamelsham their mayor bit bybit, an ear to begin with. A man waits without, give him thyinstructions to thy people. Farewell!"

  And the young bully strolled into the next cell, which wasMartin's, a keeper opening the door and shutting it upon him untilthe signal was given to reopen it; for Drogo did not wish thecoming conversation to be overheard.

  "So I have got thee at last?"

  "Thou hast my body."

  "It is a comfort that it is a body which can be made to pine, tofeel, to suffer."

  "I am in God's hands, not thine."

  "I advise thee not to look for help to so distant a quarter.Martin! I have always hated thee, both at Kenilworth and Walderne.Revenge is a morsel fit for the gods."

  "What hast thou to revenge?"

  "Didst thou not plot to oust me of mine inheritance, the nightbefore the doting old woman died up above? It cost her her life."

  "For which thou must answer to God."

  "Nay, thine hand, not mine, administered it. Ha! ha! ha!"

  "And what dost thou seek of me now?"

  "Nothing, save the joy of removing an enemy out of my path."

  "I am no man's enemy."

  "Yes, thou art mine, and always hast been. Didst thou not plotagainst me with that old hag, Mother Madge
, whom I have sent to hermaster in a chariot of fire?"

  "I heard her confession of that particular crime."

  "So did I, through eavesdroppers. Well, thou knowest too much; andshalt never see the sun again. It is pleasant is it not--the freshair of the green woods, the sheen of the sun, the songs of thebirds, the murmur of the streams, the scent of the flowers.

  "Ah, ah!--thou feelest it--well, it shall never again fall to thylot to see, hear, and smell all these. Here shalt thou linger outthy remaining days; thy companions the toad, the eft, the spider,the beetle; and when thou diest of hunger and thirst, which willeventually be thy lot, this cell shall be thy coffin. Here shaltthou rot."

  "And hence shall I rise, in that case, at the day of resurrection.Nay, Drogo, thou canst not frighten me. I am not in thy power. Thoucanst not tame the spirit. Do thy worst, I wait God's hour."

  Drogo was beside himself by rage at this language on the part of acaptive, and he would have struck him down on the spot but forsomething in Martin that awed him, even as the keeper, who callshimself the lion king, tames the lion.

  "We shall see," he said, and left the cell.

  "My lord, do not harm him," said the man. "If a hand be laid uponhim the men-at-arms will rebel. They fear that it will bring acurse upon them."

  "The fools, what is a friar but flesh and blood like others?"

  "I would sooner hang or fry a hundred wretched burghers, or beheada score of knights, than touch this friar."

  "I see how it is. I must contrive to starve or poison him," thoughtthe base lord of the castle.

  As he ascended the stairs he heard the sound of a trumpet, orrather a horn. Loud cries of surprise and alarm greeted his ears.

  He went out on the watch tower. The woods were alive with men: theyissued out on all sides--the "merrie men" of the woods.

  Drogo saw at once that they had come to seek Martin. He took holdof a white flag, and advanced to the tower above the centralgateway--to parley--for he feared the arrows of the marksmen of thewoods.

  "Whom seek ye?"

  "One whom thou hast wrongfully imprisoned. The friar Martin."

  "I have not got him here."

  "But thou hast, and we have come to claim him."

  "Choose three of your number. They may come and confer with me inthe castle upon his disappearance. God forbid that I should layhands on His ministers."

  "Dost thou pledge thy honour for their safety?"

  "Do ye doubt my honour? Oh, well; so ye may well do, if ye think Iwould have touched brother Martin."

  He was so plausible that they were ashamed of their distrust, andselected three of their foremost men, who forthwith entered.

  The gates were shut behind them.

  And then, oh, shame to say! They were seized from behind, theirarms bound behind their backs, and, in spite of their protests, ledout on the watch tower, where was a permanent gibbet, and, in sightof all their comrades, hung over the battlements.

  "That is how my honour bids me treat with outlaws," laughed Drogo.

  A flight of arrows was the reply, which penetrated every crevice,and made six troopers stretch their bodies on the ground.

  "Keep under cover," shouted Drogo. "There will be a fine gatheringof arrows when all is done, and it will be long before these oldwalls crave for mercy. Keep up your courage, men. The fools have nomeans of besieging the place, and ere another sun has set, theroyal banner will appear for their dispersion and our deliverance."

  For he had heard from a sure hand that the royal army had reachedTunbridge, en route for Lewes, and would pass by Walderne,tarrying, perchance, for the night. Hence his daring defiance ofthe sons of the soil.